After laboring for years in hopes of an elusive title shot, he thinks a win this weekend would solidify his case for a chance at the belt.

He just doesn’t expect current champion Anderson Silva to be there to meet him anytime in the foreseeable future.

Bisping (22-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) vs. Stann (12-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is one of three featured attractions at UFC 152. They’re part of the pay-per-view main card of the event, which takes place at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre following prelims on FX and Facebook.

Silva, meanwhile, recently accepted a non-title light-heavyweight bout with Stephan Bonnar at next month’s UFC 153 event in Brazil. And after that? Well, the UFC has done anything but shoot down the possibility of a cross-division, champion-vs.-champion fight between Silva and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. In fact, it could be held at Cowboys Stadium for just the second-ever UFC stadium show.

So even with a win, Bisping doesn’t think he’ll get his title shot anytime soon?

“To be honest, if Anderson faces GSP, then probably (not),” he said. “I don’t think anyone from the middleweight division is facing Anderson anytime soon. But if he doesn’t, yeah, I think this win over Brian Stann will do that for me.”

Waiting for a guaranteed title shot would be especially frustrating for Bisping, a winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 3″ whose UFC career has spanned more than six years and 16 fights.

“It makes sense from the UFC’s perspective,” Bisping said. “You had the main event and co-main event fall off a card in Brazil. Anderson Silva is the biggest name in the sport, and he’s Brazilian. (He) could have made 185. But he’ll fight at 205 against Stephan Bonnar. The Brazilian fans get to see what they want. They get to see their hero fighting in his home nation. And they get to see him win, to be honest.”

So with Silva’s status up in the air, Bisping said he can do little more than focus on the task at hand. He’s a small favorite over Stann, a former WEC champion who’s entered title contention on the strength of a 4-1 run.

Many see Bisping and Stann on a similar rung of the division’s ladder, but the brash Brit believes his body of work is far more impressive, especially when you look at the details.

“I’ve only been stopped once in my career, and that was back against Dan Henderson,” Bisping said. “Stann got stopped by a guy named Steve Cantwell. Yeah, I don’t know who that is either. But yeah, he got stopped against him, and I got stopped against Dan Henderson. Make of that what you will. I know what I make of it.”

Besides, Bisping said, he’s “too fast and too technical” for his opponent. So he expects to win impressively, make his case for a title shot, and hope the stars align for that elusive title shot.

And if not? Well, it’d be the proverbial punch to the gut for 33-year-old fighter who knows he only has so many fights left in his career.

“I enjoy doing what I do, but I want to fight for the title,” he said. “I’ve been around long enough. It’d be a shame not to. To be around this long and be this competitive and be this close for so long and never get the shot, that’d be heart-breaking.”

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